ALBANY — Emergency dispatch records obtained by the Times Union raise questions about whether police in Albany tried to delay the arrest of a veteran Albany detective involved in what officials said was an alcohol-fueled hit-and-run crash two weeks ago.

The dispatch records, and interviews with police officers familiar with the incident, show that a pickup truck driven by Detective George McNally had wended from Albany into Bethlehem at high speeds, bouncing off snowbanks and parked cars, as he was being followed by an off-duty Schenectady police officer who noticed he was driving erratically. The Schenectady officer, John Maloney, used his cellphone to communicate with an Albany dispatcher as he gave chase in his Grand Cherokee.

Maloney declined to comment Wednesday. The records show he started following McNally’s vehicle on an unsettling trip through south Albany after he saw the red pickup strike at least one parked car. Maloney followed McNally to a Hannaford grocery store in Bethlehem, where McNally walked inside as Maloney relayed that information to a dispatcher.

At that point, inexplicably, the pursuit by Maloney ends. There is no indication in the records about how McNally was able to drive home from there as police said they were scouring the area for him. A person familiar with the case said Maloney did not realize he was following another cop.

”I have no comment, sir. No comment,” Maloney said when contacted Wednesday.

Along the way to Bethlehem, as Maloney followed, McNally’s truck reached speeds of approximately 70 mph, nearly hit another vehicle head-on and cut through a gas station to avoid a red light, the records show.

The dispatch records show officers from Bethlehem ended their search for McNally at about 9:40 p.m. that night, about 23 minutes after the initial call to police in Albany.

McNally’s license plate was given to police by witnesses moments after his truck hit a parked car on New Scotland Avenue and dispatchers in Albany put it out as part of their vehicle description. He was arrested at his home in Bethlehem approximately two hours after the crash, although police would not confirm an exact time. Police officials in Albany also have not said why it took so long for an officer to go to McNally’s residence.

When an officer did arrive, two police union officials — Albany Police Officers Union President Christian Mesley and James Lyman, a retired Albany detective who heads Council 82, the APOU’s umbrella union — were already at McNally’s residence, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

Mesley and Lyman could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Albany Chief James W. Tuffey declined to answer detailed questions for this report, but acknowledged his department has had an internal affairs investigation underway since shortly after the incident began. ”We’re looking at all aspects of the investigation,” Tuffey said.

Bethlehem Chief Louis Corsi did not respond to a request for comment. But his department this week promptly released copies of police radio calls from the incident, including a copy of their dispatch records. Lt. Thomas Heffernan, a Bethlehem police spokesman, said two Bethlehem officers responded to the area of Delaware Avenue that night when an Albany dispatcher notified Bethlehem police that an apparently drunk driver was leaving Albany and headed into their town.

Heffernan said his officers were not told it was McNally, were not given his license plate and that due to a ”miscommunication” they did not go to the Hannaford store at which McNally had parked his truck.

”We were given a vehicle description only,” Heffernan said. ”Our officers checked the area and were unable to locate that vehicle. … There’s no improprieties on the part of Bethlehem police. We were not in the parking lot of the Hannaford. We had no reason to even go into the parking lot.”

Heffernan said their dispatch records which indicate an officer arrived at the address of the Hannaford shopping store while McNally was there are misleading. He said that address was listed as the last known area where the vehicle was spotted, but their officers were searching along Delaware Avenue because they mistook that when a dispatcher said the suspect was ”in front of” the store that he was passing by the front of the store.

Still, there is nothing in the records indicating that Bethlehem officers sought more details about the suspect’s location or vehicle, including a license plate number or home address for the registration. Nine minutes after Bethlehem was contacted their records indicate that the officers were ”clear” of the incident.

”If we had a license plate we would have a destination,” Heffernan said.

McNally’s truck was parked in his driveway when Albany police arrived there later.

Meanwhile, the Albany records do not indicate why patrol cars didn’t flood the area of the city where McNallys’ vehicle was being pursued by Maloney.

The dispatch records indicate McNally’s vehicle was driving erratically and came close to striking two other moving vehicles in Albany.

Several blocks from the initial crash scene, the off-duty Schenectady officer told a dispatcher that McNally careened into a snow bank near the intersection of New Scotland and Hollywood avenues. ”Just went into snowbank,” the dispatcher repeated on the air. McNally allegedly climbed out of his truck to inspect the damage and Maloney, who remained on his cell phone with a dispatcher, gave a detailed description of the suspect.

”White male, white scarf overcoat with cap glasses, 55 years of age, now getting back into car.”

Three minutes later, Maloney is still relaying every turn, unaware he’s following a fellow police officer.

”Going faster,” the dispatcher reports over the radio. ”Now at light on Whitehall. East on Whitehall almost hit car head on.”

Then the dispatcher reports over the air that the red truck is ”going 55 to 69 miles per hour.” At the corner of Whitehall Road and Delaware Avenue, the truck cut through a gas station ”bypassing the light,” the dispatcher said, echoing on the air what Maloney is saying.

There are still no Albany police cars in pursuit as McNally’s truck sped south into Bethlehem at ”a high rate of speed at 60 to 70 miles per hour,” the dispatcher said.

At that point, McNally drove into the Delaware Plaza and exited his vehicle to walk into a Hannaford grocery store. Maloney tells the dispatcher that he sees damage to the passenger side of the truck. There is no additional contact with Maloney and the pursuit abruptly ends.

McNally remains suspended without pay and could not be reached for comment.

He allegedly refused to submit to a Breathalyzer exam the night of his arrest and was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

Last week, a Department of Motor Vehicles Administrative Law Judge ruled that McNally’s driving privileges should not be revoked because Albany police had improperly read a warning related to McNally’s alleged refusal to take a Breathalyzer.